The majority of information on this wellness blog focuses on two of the biggest subjects that come to mind when people consider wellness - nutrition and exercise. While these two components of wellness clearly impact your health, there are some activities/habits that people may not be as quick to link to health, like technology and, more specifically, social media use. Let's explore the connection between the two, and allow me to offer an opportunity for you to improve your health by limiting your technology use for the remainder of the month of July.

With the amount that we recognize the need to limit the screen time of children, I've been amazed that there isn't more research and media attention devoted to how screen time affects adults. With today's technology, it's nearly impossible to avoid screen time, and it seems that comes with a price.

1. Disrupted Sleep

Back in a previous post I shared all about sleep, I shared this resource, which demonstrates how the blue light from your cell phone can affect your melatonin levels, disrupting your sleep, and in turn, negatively impacting other areas of your health, like making you more susceptible to obesity and depression.

2. Increased Neck & Back Pain

The average adult head weighs 10-12 pounds, but the more your head tilts forward, the more force the neck experiences. By looking at a cell phone in your lap, with your neck flexed 60 degrees beyond neutral, your neck and spine will experience around 60 pounds of stress. Here are some more details on "text neck" and what you can do to prevent it.

3. Increased Risk of Metabolic Syndrome

It seems pretty common sense that the more screen time a person engages in, the less physical activity they are doing. But the result of that can have a brutal affect on health, leading to an increased risk of Metabolic Syndrome (a combination of Diabetes, hypertension and obesity), independent of physical activity. What that means is that people that binge on TV, even if they go out and run afterward, are still at an increased risk of developing chronic health problems.

4. Strained Relationships

According to this article from Time, based on a study published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture, those that indicated they felt dependent on their smartphone, as well as those who perceived their partner had a dependency on their smartphone, reported lower levels of connection and satisfaction in their relationships. Additionally, in studies conducted by the University of Essex in the UK, researchers found that when two strangers were put together for face-to-face conversation, those with cell phones nearby were perceived less positively than those without.

My challenge to you, for the month of July, is to limit unnecessary screen time (including internet/social media browsing, TV watching and game playing) to less than one hour each day. For every day that you do, you can earn one point toward your MyWellness balance. Throughout the month, come back here to find support and more ideas on other activities that you can replace your screen time with that carry health benefits. If you have any questions, please call Lauren at ext. 2137.